September 16, 2024 | 7:25pm
MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque was not found at either of his two residences in Metro Manila as police officers attempted to serve him an arrest order issued by the House of Representatives.
Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said during a press conference on Monday, September 16 that efforts to locate Roque have so far been unsuccessful. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has been assisting the House sergeant-at-arms in serving the arrest order since Friday, September 13.
Authorities also visited Roque’s law firm at Salcedo Village in Makati City, on Friday, but he was not there either.
The arrest order came a day after lawmakers demanded that Roque submit subpoenaed documents on his business and assets, which he has refused to do.
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Roque, a human rights lawyer prior to his government roles under the Duterte administration, has been linked to the operation of offshore online scams and gambling rings known as POGOs or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.
Roque’s conditions
In a video statement on Monday, Roque said he would only surrender and submit the documents if requested by the Supreme Court.
“My freedom is important to me. I will not surrender my freedom again as I did before, when I surrendered it for one day while I was imprisoned,” he said in Filipino.
Roque further noted that no case has been filed against him in the Supreme Court, unlike Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99, a POGO operator.
On Tuesday, September 10, both the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the PNP-CIDG filed non-bailable human trafficking cases against Ong and 53 other individuals allegedly involved in illegal POGO operations.
The House’s quad committee has been investigating Roque’s involvement in POGO activities after Ong allegedly hired him as legal counsel for Lucky South 99’s renewal process before the firm was shut down.
